Piano-action joint.



PIANO ACTION 5mm.

APPUCAT' F* ED JULY 18,192

Patented Mar. 21, 2.916.

'2 SHEUS-3HEET Witnesses Attorneys I.

A. B. CROSS.

PIANO ACTION JOINT.

APPLlCATION FILED lULY 1a. 1914.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

g if i l $236M); Witnesses Inventor,

by I.

Attorneys ALONZO B. cnoss, or MOBILE, ALABAMA.

PIANO-ACTION JOINT.

Specification Letters Patent.

Application filed July 1!, 1914. Serial No. 851,802.

ful Piano-Action Joint, of which the following is a specification.

's invention relates to piano actions, its principal object being toeliminate practically all of the disadvantages-incident to the use ofpiano actions such as commonly employed. For example, flanges on whichthe movable parts of the action have been mounted, have heretofore beenprovided necessarily. These flanges contain pin holes which are bushedor lined with cloth. The different parts work upon pins which aresecured firmly in osition and ,work loosely in the holes in t e linedflanges. It is'a well known fact, however, that changes of temperatureand atmospheric conditions cause the flanges to expand and contract. indam weather the entire action often becomes 5 uggish so that repetitionis seriously interfered with and the parts often stick to such an extentthat they-will not work. Furthermore, piano actions asordinarilyconstructed, are provided with several springs all of whichbecome weak after long use and often break. This is especially true ofthe dam er spring. The jackspring commonly used is made of coiled wireand soon becomes weakened to such an extent that it interferes withproper repetition and often v phere, thereby causing the action to workfails to work.

It has been found that the bushings or linings used in connection withthe flanges very quickly wear out, especially when the action issubjected to constant use, this leaving the action loose and noisy.Furthermore the'flange pins often corrode under the action of themoisture contained in the atmos- -possible to readily remove the s tiveto each other and to prevent the parts from moving out of line.

Another object is to provide simple means wherebv the spring strips canbe quickly and securely attached to the parts, it being ings withoutcompletely detaching the ho ding means provided therefor. E

A further object is to provide a structure which dispenses with theusual hammer spring rail, the hammer butt sprin the jack springs andsome other parts heretofore used in piano actions, and the flanges whichhave heretofore been used upon the whippen, jack, hammer butt, abstractlever and damper lever.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention resides in the combination andarrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafterdescribed and claimed, it being understood that changes in the preciseembodiment of the invention herein disclosed, can be made within thescope of what is claimed, without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

-In the accompanying drawings the preferred form of the invention hasbeen shown.

In said drawings :Figure 1 is a side elevation of a piano actionembodyin the present improvements, the parts eing shown in their normalpositions, the action rails being in section. Fig. 2 is a similar viewshowing the relative position of the parts immediately subsequent tostriking the stringswith the hammer andbefore the key has been released.Fig. 3 is a front elevationof the structure shown in Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is-aperspective view of one of the spring connections. Fig.6 is a detailview of a holding plate to be used with a spring connection. Fig. 6 is aperspective view ofan' other form of connecting spring.

Referring to the figures by characters of reference 1 designates theusual key having an adjustable capstan screw extending under and adaptedto bear upwardly against the abstract 3. This abstract has a link 4pivotally connected to it and said link is in turn connected to anaction rail 5 by means Patented Mar. 21, 1916.

of a spring connection 6. This connection is made up of a thin strip ofspring metal, preferably hardened steel, said strip being extended atone end under the action rail and at its other end on tpp of the link Aclamping plate 7 is mounted upon each end portion of the strip 6, one ofthe plates being attached to the action rail 5 by means of suitablescrews 8, while the other plate, is similarly secured to the link 4. Assho'wn in Fig. 6, each end portion of the strip 6 has a screw receivingnotch 9 therein while apertures 10 are provided for the other screwsextending through the plates 7.

Thus the connecting strip 6 can be securely held against movementrelative to the rail 0 and link 1 and not only serves as a hingedconnection between the link and the rail 'but also as a spring forholding the, link normally in a predetermined position relative to therail. The strip (5 is of the same width as the link 4 and will preventthe link from swaying laterally or shifting out of line.

The upper end of the abstract 3 is pivotally connected as ordinarily toa wippen 11. This wippen extends under an action rail 12 and ispreferably formed in its upper face with a recess 13 designed to embracethe lower edge of the aclion rail 12 during the. pivotal movement of the\vippen. Said wippen comiected to the bottom of the action rail 12 by astrip 1% preferably formed of hardened steel, this strip being similarto the strip 6 hereinbefore described and being attached to the rail 12and wippen 11 in the same manner. Thus strip 1:4 not only con stitules ahinged connection between the rail 12 and the wippen 11 but also servesas a spring for holding the \vippen normally in a predetermined positionrelative to the ac tion rail and to prevent said wippen from swinginglaterally out of line. A, damper spoon or tongue 15 extends from theback end of the wippen and in front of the lower end of the damper lever16, which lever is connected to the upper portion of the front face ofthe rail 12 by means of a connecting strip 17. This connecting strip isprefer ably made of hardened spring steel, the end portions of the stripbeing connected to the damper lever and to the rail 12 in the samemanner as are the strips 6 and 14. This cminecting strip 17 ispreferably formed with an intermediate bend so that under normalconditions the damper lever will be held at such an angle as to hold thedamper head 18 in contact with the string S.

The front end of the wippen 11 extends under a r gulating rail 19carrying a. regu lating screw 20 to the lower end of which is secured aregulating button 21. This button is disposed above and in the path ofthe foot 22 of a jack 23, the heel portion of the jack being mounted torock upon the top of the wippen. This jack is connected to the wippen bya spring strip 24 preferably formed of hardened spring steel and whichstrip is secured to the jack in the same manner as the strips (3, 14 and17 "1 .lower end portion of the spring sir @i iowever, is extended intoa slot 25 formed in the upper portion of the wippen, this insertedportion of the spring being held in place by a wedge 26 which is driveninto the slot, the several parts being then glued together in anysuitable man This spring strip 24 serves not only a a hinged connectionbetween the jack andthe wippen but also serves as a spring for holdingthe jack normally at a predetermined angle to the wippen and to preventthe jack from twisting or tilting laterally out of line with the wippen.

The hammer butt 27 is connected to the action rail 12 by a spring strip28 similar to the strip 17 heretofore described, this strip beingsecured to the action rail 12 and to the hammer butt 27 in the samemanner as the strip 17 is fastened. The hammer butt is arranged in frontof a hammer rail 29 as ordinarily. the hammer 30 being so positioned asto strike the string S when the action set in motion. A back stop 31 isconnected to the hammer butt 27 and the jack 23 projects between thisback stop and the toe of the hammer butt.

Importance is attached to the fact that by using clamping plates such asshown in F ig. 5, it is possible, simply by removing the screws enteringthe openings 10 in the various spring strips, to withdraw these springstrips from engagement with the other screws extending through thestrips or plates 7. wippen or other part is being removed the clampingstrip or plate 7 will be retained in position thereon while the springstrip remains attached to its rail and slips from engagement with thepart being removed. To replace a hammer, Wippen, or the like, it ismerely necessary to slip the part back on' the string, replace the screwin hole 0 and tighten the screw that fits in recess 9.

By setting the lifter spring at different angles, the touch can be madelight or heavy as desired.

\Vhat is elaimcd isz- 1. A piano" action including separate parts, oneotwhich is movable relative to the other, a flat spring strip, separateconnecting means extending through the strip and into the respectiveparts, and means engag- Consequently while a hammer,-

ing the ends of the strip and the respective into the respective parts,means engaging In testimony that I claim the foregoing as the ends ofthe strip and the respective parts my own, I have .lsereto affixed mysignature for holding said parts against pivotal movein the presence oftwo Witnesses.

ment relative to the strip, and clamping ALONZO B. CROSS. 5 platesengaging those portions of the strip Witnesses:

lapping the parts of the action, said plates JAMES 0. SMITH,

being engaged by the connecting means. I F. V. KURTZ.

copies of this patent may be obtained for live cents each, by addressingthe "commissioner ot ratents Wuhlngton, D. 0." i

